Good Friday and the New Adam
The Gospel according to John begins by revisiting Genesis.[1]
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” … "He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:1-5,10-11).
Today we see what it means that the Word, who was both with God and was God, is not accepted by those who were made by him.
Our reading today begins in a garden. And like the garden of Genesis, this too becomes a garden of betrayal. The incarnate Word, through whom “all things came into being” is in a garden. The roles are reversed. In Genesis, God comes looking for Adam, but now violent men come looking for the incarnate Word.
“Whom are you looking for?”, he asks. They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth”. In the context, Jesus’ response can mean “that’s me”, but the words can also mean the name of God given to Moses out of the burning bush “I AM”- “Tell them ‘I AM’ has sent you” (Ex 3). The Temple soldiers stumble backwards at the pronouncing of the name that is forbidden to pronounce.
There is violence that erupts as they try to arrest Jesus. One son of Adam spills the blood of another son of Adam. But Jesus soon stops this, showing that he knows what is happening and is willing to drink the cup that is being offered to him.
Jesus is arrested and is brought to stand before the High Priest. Annas didn’t seem to want to let go of power to his son-in-law, Caiaphas. So, for about four years they shared the role. … Jesus, the true High Priest, the one who stands as the image of God to the people, and represents humanity to God- The embodied Temple, the place where heaven and earth truly overlap- faces off with a challenger for the role of High Priest.
He is eventually brought to The Roman Governor Pilate. Pilate wants to keep the Roman peace in the region, but he had no love for the Jewish people. He seemed to love reminding them of their position in the Roman Empire as a conquered people. The Jewish High Priest ranked below the most modest Roman Citizen. To him they were ‘persona non grata’- non-persons- Annoying dogs he had to contend with.
Pilate lived on a knife’s edge. If violence erupts under his watch, or if he is seen to be dis-loyal to the Caesar, his life would be in danger. Tiberias Casar was in power at that time, and these were the later years of his reign, when he was known for exterminating those who were not fiercely loyal to him. … And Pilate did eventually lose his head by the command of Caesar after a violent insurrection erupted in the region. So his fear of Caesar was founded.
But, like most Romans, Pilate was also very superstitious. He knew the Roman myths about the goddess of vengeance, Nemesis, who would avenge wrongful deaths. The Furies, too, were known to pursue those who committed wrongful killings. Normally the killing of a nobody wouldn’t worry him. But St. Mathew tells us his wife had a dream, warning him about mistreating Jesus, and this ignites all his Roman superstitions.
Pilate is stuck. He seems to be convinced that Jesus is innocent and that the Chief Priests have brought him forward for their own agenda, not for any real Roman Crime. … But, the crowd is threatening to erupt if things don’t go their way.
Pilate has Jesus scourged. He is whipped with leather straps that have various shards of metal, clay, and stone woven in, that would tear apart the flesh of the victim. It was the worst thing he could do to him without killing him, though it did sometimes kill the victim.
After being scourged, he is dressed in a purple robe and a crown of thorns is placed on his head, and his is presented to them. He was a horrifying and pitiful sight. Pilate seemed to have thought that the sight of him would have caused the crowd to relent. … But they once again call out for his death.
Pilate is stuck between his superstition, and calming the crowd. This man is called a king, he is called the Son of God. Caesar, too, is called a son of the gods. There is a mystery about him that Pilate doesn’t seem to be able to put his finger on.
The Chief Priests pull out their secret weapon.
“If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the Emperor”. In answer to their cries to Crucify Jesus, Pilate asks them, “Shall I crucify your king?” To which the chief priests respond, “We have no king but the emperor”. … They are threatening the life of Pilate by making it known that they will spin this situation to make it look like Pilate did not defend the honour of Caesar. … This threat overtakes his superstition, and he is willing to crucify the innocent man he just had humiliated and scourged.
The Chief Priests should have been loyal to their true king, God’s Mesiah. They should have led the people to follow him, but instead they chose a Pagan Emperor, the present embodiment of the spirit of Babylon- The earthly enemy of the kingdom of God.
And so Jesus, the incarnate Word, the image of the invisible God, the new Adam will contend with another tree- a Roman cross. Jesus will be killed in the most horrible way human beings could think of. … The first Adam was created on the sixth day of creation, and on this Friday morning Jesus faces the cross on the sixth day of the week. … He will be led to Golgotha, the place of the skull, and according to a Jewish tradition, Golgotha, the place where Jesus would be crucified, was the place where Adam was buried.[2]
Jesus is nailed to the cross, under as sign that represents the charge, “The King of the Jews”. It is a calculated snub from Pilate against the Chief Priests who forced his hand. Pilate doesn’t believe he was a king any more than the Chief Priests do, but it is a way Pilate can show his contempt for their people and remind them of their place under the boot of Rome.
Before the beginning of Passover, the crucified victims will have their legs broken so that they will die faster. They wouldn’t be able to push up to get another breath. … When they come to Jesus they find that he has already died. The scourging has caused significant loss of blood and trauma to his body, which would have quickened his death. To be sure, a spear is thrust into his side, releasing blood and water.
The first Adam was placed in a deep sleep like death and from his side was made woman- The bride of Adam. From the side of this new Adam pours the water of baptism and the blood of the chalice, which would create his new bride, the Church.
And so, as we stand in the shadow of the cross, we see the true High Priest, the true King, the true Adam—the One who does not grasp at power, but pours Himself out in love. In Him, betrayal is met with forgiveness, suffering with redemption, and death itself with life everlasting. From His side flow the blood and water—the signs of the new covenant, forming His bride, the Church.
In this moment, darkness thought it had won. But the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. Even now, even here, the cross stands as the doorway to resurrection, the road to redemption, the triumph of love over fear and sin. And as we leave here today, we do not leave in despair—we leave knowing that Good Friday is not the end of the story. The stone will be rolled away, and the risen Lord will meet us again in the garden." AMEN
[1] This
sermon is heavily influenced by NT Wright’s John for Everyone commentary and Stephen
De Young’s Whole Counsel of God Podcast commentary series, particularly the
episodes in John.
[2] Origen, a third-century Christian theologian, claimed that the identification of Golgotha as Adam’s burial site was a Hebrew tradition- 100583-Article
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